Narrow Depth of Field Sunset
Yesterday’s PhotoCamp Daily, below, dealt with the importance of light in storytelling. I used the photo above as one of the ways that light can help in telling the story.
Made as the sun was just going behind the trees at the horizon, this fisherman was rushed in his attempts to catch a fish before it got too dark to see what he was doing.
Focused on his profile and concentrated on the sun placement in the composition so it emphasized his hands and fishing gear against the sun.
Shooting silhouettes is tricky. Often the idea is a strong set of contrasty graphic elements playing against each other with a dominant subject. Many appear two-dimensional with the graphic elements flattened against each other.
The fisherman photo employs the silhouette technique but adds the blurred background lit by the sunset. The sun wrapping itself around the out-of-focus trees and the blurred fishing rod give the photo the look of a chiaroscuro setting that softens emotions and perhaps appeals to nostalgia for the contemplative nature of the end of the day.
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